Cheers to Rep. Jarrod Crockett, R-Bethel, for having the courage to say what must be said. On Thursday the House upheld Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that would have allowed fraternal and veterans organizations to install gambling machines at their clubhouses. Some lawmakers argued that these machines were essential to helping organizations raise […]

We go to school to learn, and learn we do. School is much more than multiplication tables and spelling tests. It’s a place to learn how the world works, how decisions are made and that, sometimes, life isn’t fair. What may be among the toughest lessons to learn is that, sometimes, circumstances are beyond our […]

Now that the dust has settled from Friday’s release of the state’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability report on MaineHousing, let’s just all take a deep breath. Whether you categorize the zeal to oust former MSMA Director Dale McCormick as a witch-hunt or simple public accountability, we must acknowledge that the OPEGA review […]

We sometimes hear people — always people who are fortunate enough to have jobs — speculate that many people receiving unemployment benefits really don’t want to work. These people, they say, are simply content to sit back and collect checks until their benefits run out. That probably happens, but they are likely the people who […]

Tragedies occur. A Maine lobsterman falls overboard, a snowmobiler goes through the ice or a swimmer never emerges from the lake. But what we have never seen at the location of any similar tragedy are federal employees sent by members of Congress to relay news to their own friends and family members. Yet, that is […]

Someday historians will look back at the 112th and call it the Crackpot Congress. But why wait? It is paralyzed by bickering, short on accomplishments and completely unable to solve or even talk reasonably about the most pressing problems facing our nation. It has been an embarrassing spectacle of how Democracy isn’t supposed to work. […]

The Martindale Hotel & Golf Club has a nice ring to it. The 18-hole golf course alongside the Little Androscoggin River, established in 1921, is a challenging course with expansive views of the Twin Cities. A hotel could offer upscale accommodations and dining, plus space for corporate meetings, weddings and other events. Does that sound […]

The 401(k) concept always looked good on paper. The thinking went that workers would have the discipline to save enough money to more than match Social Security in their retirement years. The facts show, however, that the actual outcome for most American workers will be far different. More than 40 percent of workers don’t even […]